Spanish monarchy's popularity hits new low

FILE - In this May 22, 2006 file photo, Spain's King Juan Carlos arrives with his daughter, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, for the Laureus World Sports Awards in Barcelona, Spain. Urdangarin is accused of having used his position to embezzle several million dollars in public contracts assigned to a nonprofit foundation he set up. The corruption scandal is contributing to the public's diminishing respect for the monarchy. With the 75-year-old king's reputation in decline and several health scares recently, Juan Carlos and the Spanish monarchy are facing one of their biggest crises ever. The last time Juan Carlos appeared in public in front of thousands of people, he was greeted by persistent heckling and whistling never before seen during his reign of nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Jasper Juinen, File)
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FILE - In this May 22, 2006 file photo, Spain's King Juan Carlos arrives with his daughter, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, for the Laureus World Sports Awards in Barcelona, Spain. Urdangarin is accused of having used his position to embezzle several million dollars in public contracts assigned to a nonprofit foundation he set up. The corruption scandal is contributing to the public's diminishing respect for the monarchy. With the 75-year-old king's reputation in decline and several health scares recently, Juan Carlos and the Spanish monarchy are facing one of their biggest crises ever. The last time Juan Carlos appeared in public in front of thousands of people, he was greeted by persistent heckling and whistling never before seen during his reign of nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Jasper Juinen, File)
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When Dutch Queen Beatrix, also 75, announced in January that she would abdicate and pass the crown to her eldest son, some wanted the same thing to happen in Spain.

But experts say the monarchies in the two countries are completely different. The Netherlands has a history of abdications for reasons of age, while in Spain it has been extremely rare.

Urdangarin is a former professional and Olympic handball medalist and the deals he landed were for things such as organizing seminars on using sports as a lure for tourism. Once presented to his countrymen as the perfect husband, Urdangarin has now become one of Spain's most detested figures.

A year after he first gave testimony, Urdangarin will return to a tribunal in Palma de Mallorca to answer more questions from investigating magistrate Jose Castro. Urdangarin hasn't been formally charged, but all indications point to a long and drawn-out trial that will keep suspicions of royal extravagance swirling.

The royal family has responded by barring him from official functions and pulling his profile from the monarchy's website. When both Urdangarin and his brother-in-law Prince Felipe attended the final of the world handball championship, which Spain hosted and won, they didn't even look at each other.

"He's been ostracized and separated from the royal family," said Burns Maranon. He said it will be a blow for the royal family if he's jailed but "even worse if he got off scot-free."

Meanwhile, the case is getting closer and closer to Princess Cristina, with her personal secretary, Carlos Garcia Revenga, set to make statements before the magistrate on Saturday.

Garcia Revenga hasn't been formally accused. The royal family has used this as an argument to keep him in his post as it waits for justice to take its course. But the question that arises is whether or not Princess Cristina knew about her husband's alleged activities.

"I don't see why Princess Cristina would be accused of anything," said Urdangarin's lawyer, Pascual Vives. "Her situation is radically different from those facing accusations."

Ironically, Urdangarin and his wife have the title of the Duke and Duchess of Palma, the same city investigating the case. Responding to popular revulsion, city hall said it removed the street name "Duques de Palma" - one of the municipality's most central thoroughfares - because of the "less-than-exemplary behavior toward the title."

It's only a symbol, but it reflects the loss of reputation the monarchy is suffering at an especially difficult time for Spaniards.